The authorities in Galaţi have warned the Government, four times, that the legislation regarding intervention in the case of drone crashes is outdated and does not respond to the new reality generated by the war in Ukraine. Official documents show that, as early as February 2025, the Prefecture of Galati requested the modification of the Government Decision on the management of risk types, but the Ministry of Internal Affairs rejected the proposal. Just three days after this response, a drone exploded on the roof of a block in the center of Galati city, injuring two people.
The consulted documents show that, from February 2025 until June 2026, two prefects of Galati county – Andreea Naggar and, later, George Toderașc – sent four official addresses to the Government, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Defense, in which they complained about the lack of a legislative framework adapted to the threats generated by drones from the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, writes news.ro.
The main problem reported was that the current Government Decision no. 557/2016 does not explicitly regulate drone incidents. Currently, they are classified under “falling objects from the atmosphere and from the cosmos”and the main authority is the Ministry of Education, while the Ministry of Internal Affairs has only a secondary role.
According to the documents, this framework creates difficulties in the coordination of interventions and does not reflect the security reality on Romania’s eastern border.
The first request, after the first drone that fell near Galati
The steps began after the incident on the night of February 12 to 13, 2025, when a Russian drone crashed approximately 10 kilometers from the city of Galaţi.
On February 21, 2025, the prefect at the time, Andreea Naggar, sent an official request to the Ministry of Internal Affairs requesting the amendment of HG 557/2016 and the introduction of a new type of risk dedicated to the crash of drones and other unmanned aerial vehicles.
“We found that the legislation on the management of emergency situations does not expressly deal with this type of risk. Romania was already faced with the crashes of drones and other objects of military use in the proximity of the border, but these were not distinctly included in the typology of risks provided by GD no. 557/2016”, explained Andreea Naggar, for the cited publication.
The former prefect claims that the existence of a distinct regulation would have allowed the development of clear intervention plans and the establishment of the responsibilities of each institution involved.
“All the structures involved would act on the basis of the same procedural framework, with clearly defined attributions and predetermined cooperation mechanisms, which contributes to a coordinated, efficient and adapted intervention to this type of risk”, states this.
Four warnings to the Government
After the first step in February 2025, the Prefecture of Galati returned with new requests.
In September 2025, Andreea Naggar asked the Ministry of Internal Affairs to communicate the status of the legislative amendment, pointing out that drone incidents had already become frequent.
In April 2026, after another drone fell on an outbuilding in Galati, the prefect warned about the vulnerability of critical infrastructure in the area and requested, as an emergency, the installation of modern drone detection and interception systems.
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Among the targets considered vulnerable were the Brăila–Galați Suspension Bridge, the Port of Galați, the Damen Shipyard, the County Hospital, energy infrastructure and densely populated urban areas.
“Recent events confirm the fact that Galati County is in an area of real operational risk, and the repetitive nature of the incidents requires a paradigm shift, from a predominantly reactive approach to a proactive, anticipatory and integrated one”warned the prefect.
After the change of the prefect, the new representative of the Government in the territory, George Toderașc, resumed the same requests.
“The current situation confirms the need to accelerate the implementation of measures already requested, in order to ensure an adequate response to low-altitude aerial threats”it is stated in the address sent in June 2026.
MAI’s answer: the current legislation is sufficient
On May 26, 2026, the Department for Emergency Situations, through the Secretary of State Raed Arafat, sent the official response to the Galați Prefecture.
The institution announced that a joint intervention procedure for such incidents is under consultation between MAi, MApN and SRI. Instead, the proposal to amend the Government Decision was rejected.
“We appreciate that it is necessary to maintain the current regulatory framework”says the response signed by Raed Arafat.
According to the document, incidents can already be classified into existing risk types, respectively “falling objects from the atmosphere and from the cosmos” or “unexploded or deactivated ammunition left over from military conflicts”.
Three days later, a drone was hitting a block of flats
Just three days after sending this answer, on the night of May 29, 2026, a drone exploded on the roof of a tower block in the center of the city of Galati. The explosion affected an apartment, and two residents, a mother and son, were injured.
The investigation into the Russian drone that crashed over a block of flats in Galati shows that the device, a Geran-2 model, was carrying at least 30 kg of explosives and was part of a group of about 50 drones launched from Crimea in an attack on port infrastructure in southern Ukraine.
According to the radar data of the Romanian Army, the drone separated from the formation around 1:46 a.m., near the Ukrainian city of Reni, about 19 km east of it. The plane continued its flight by itself, changing its trajectory towards Romania.
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At 1:52 a.m., the drone crossed the border through the area of Grindu and IC Brătianu, flying at approximately 600 m altitude and at a speed of approximately 100 km/h. At that time, the Romanian Army raised two F‑16 aircraft and an IAR‑330 Puma helicopter for monitoring.
The drone disappeared from the radar at 1:56 a.m., after traveling approximately 10 km inside Romania. Shortly after, calls to 112 regarding the explosion in Galati were reported.
The incident led Andreea Naggar to make public the official documents through which, for over 15 months, she had requested the amendment of the legislation.
“I considered it necessary to make this approach public because, despite the fact that vulnerabilities were reported as early as February 2025 and concrete proposals were made to adapt the regulatory framework and protect the population, the incidents continued to occur. Citizens have the right to know this institutional course and the measures that have been proposed since the first incident.” declared the former prefect.
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